Almost Normal
by ForbiddenDreams13
Summary: A light, fluffy fic where Kurama muses on his current life during a quiet evening with his step-brother.


**Hello, hello! Welcome back to another oneshot! Heading back into some normalcy feels a little strange, eh? No shadows, no terror, no freaky encounters. Well, I've had this idea knocking around in my head for a while now, and I should probably let it out. So, on that note please enjoy. And as always, if you like the story, be sure to drop me a line!**

* * *

"Hey Suuichi, did you hear?"

Kurama looked up from his book. Shuiichi stood in the doorway to his elder sibling's bedroom. His bright blue eyes glowed with excitement and his lips were turned upward in a giddy grin. Kurama smiled.

"Hear what?" he asked.

Shuiichi beamed, "Mom and Dad are heading out to some kind of company party tonight. We've got the place to ourselves!"

Parents out of the house? Tonight? Kurama glanced at his calendar. It was Friday, and since his mother and step-father were heading out to what was more than likely a cocktail party, they would be leaving the house at around 6:00 p.m. Kurama mulled over the information. 6:00 p.m.. On a Friday. That could only mean…

He looked back at Shuiichi, smiling. Shuiichi's grin widened.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That depends," Kurama replied, "are we spending an evening searching for the truth?"

"Of course!" Shuiichi chirped. Then, his smile dropped and his face became serious. His eyes darkened and he gazed at his step brother. "The truth is out there." He murmured.

Kurama gave a grave nod, "Indeed. The truth is out there, but so are lies."

The boys continued to stare at each other for a moment longer, then burst out laughing. The Minamino household wasn't super strict when it came to television, but it was an unspoken rule that evenings belonged to Shiori and Kazuya who enjoyed watching the local and national news. Friday evenings especially, because the network did an in-depth economic report which Kazuya took great interest in. While the local news only ran for half an hour, running from 6:00 to 6:30, the national news ran for a full hour, thus eclipsing the time slot for the latest episode of X-Files. In order to combat this, the boys taped each new episode as it came and watched it the next day. Fridays where they had the house to themselves were a very special event. The episode would still be taped as always, one must have a complete set, but still. To watch it in real time and not have to deal with skipping, jumping images, or audio issues. Kurama remembered on instance where an entire episode had to be watched with subtitles. An awful experience.

Shuiichi rushed off down the hall, excitement putting, a spring in his step. Kurama smiled as he watched him go. X-Files had been a guilty pleasure of his for a while. It felt nice to find someone with whom he could share his secret. The redhead shuddered to think of what would happen should Yusuke and crew discover his secret. He had an image to uphold! Kuwabara, Hiei, and Botan wouldn't care, but Yusuke would never let him hear the end of it. Mainly because he thought the show was overrated. Kurama shook his head. Poor fool. Still, he could do without the ribbing. He glanced at his watch. 4:35. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Shiori and Kazuya stood on the porch, both clad in evening wear. A crisp, clean black suit for Kazuya and a black knee-length dress for Shiori. Shiori smiled at her boys as they stood in the doorway, seeing their parents off.

"We should be back around eleven o' clock tonight. If you need anything, numbers are posted up on the fridge."

Kurama smiled, "Thank you, Mother." He nodded to them, "I hope you enjoy your evening."

Shiori smiled, "Thank you, dear." She turned to her husband holding out her arm, "Shall we?"

Kazuya took her arm, "Indeed we shall." He looked back at Kurama and Shuiichi, "take care of the house you two. No crazy parties while we're gone!"

The four of them shared a laugh at the joke. Kazuya then led Shiori towards the walk. Kurama and Shuiichi watched them turn down the street. Once they were out of sight, they turned and entered the house, shutting and locking the door behind them. The boys turned to each other and grinned.

"We've got about an hour until it airs," Kurama said, walking into the living room, "I'm going to get started on dishes."

"Okay. I'll get at my homework. Meet in the living room at 6:50?"

Kurama nodded. "Sounds good."

Shuiichi trotted upstairs and Kurama went to the kitchen. As he turned on the faucet and waited for the water to heat up, he pondered the situation. A quiet evening with his step-brother watching a beloved television show. It was so normal. No demons, no spirits, no imminent threat to humanity. No valuable artifacts, no dodging hunters, no raids or days of endless slaughter. Just a normal evening for a normal family. When he was younger, he despised such things. When he was Yoko, he never knew such peace existed. Now, he wouldn't have it any other way. Even more so considering the quality of X-Files. Everything about the show intrigued him. From the overarching conspiracies binding each season to the horror of the monster of the week. The drama and suspense were played to perfection. Plus, he loved the banter between Mulder and Scully. Two very well written characters if he did say so. He found the show relatable, given his extracurricular activities. Although it sucked that the FBI's strangest pair never made it to the land of the rising sun. The closest they had come at Asian culture was a case in Chinatown involving black market, ritualistic surgery and a Japanese nurse at a retirement home feeding the patients mushrooms that took care of their ailments. They were good episodes, but Kurama had to wonder how the dynamic duo would fare against the shadows that haunted the land of the rising sun.

Kurama placed his wrist under the water, yanking it back with a hiss when it scalded his skin. Oh yeah, that was hot. Grabbing a plug with one hand, and the dish soap with the other, the fox began the evening chore, keeping an eye on the clock.

6:50. The time had arrived. Kurama snapped his book shut and went downstairs. Shuiichi was already there, kneeling in front of the opened hall closet, rummaging around in a plastic tote. Kurama came up behind him and peered over his shoulder. VHS tapes were stacked right up to the top. Shuiichi was pulling them out, reading the labels and putting them aside. Well, labels was an understatement. They were little more than strips of masking tape with titles in written in permanent marker. Some were faded, others fresh and bold. Most titles were written in his mother's flowing script. Home videos taken when he was a child. Kurama didn't like to think about those. While he had done a good job making himself look like the happy young child Shiori wanted for the video, one careful look into his eyes gave away the disdain he had held for being videotaped. Looking back into that time saddened him. Such a foolish, arrogant creature he was.

"Aha!"

Shuiichi's shout of triumph brought Kurama out of his reverie. He glanced down at his step-brother. He'd managed to find an unmarked tape.

"Found one, eh?"

Shuiichi jumped, whipping around. He took a deep breath when he saw his step-brother behind him, leaning up against the wall.

"Oh, Suuichi. Sorry, I didn't realize you were back there."

"It's alright," Kurama replied, "I just came down a little bit ago." He bent down and picked up the unmarked tape, taking it into the living room while Shuiichi put the rest of the tapes away. Kneeling in front of the tv, Kurama cast a quick glance at the VCR clock. 6:52. Eight minutes. More than enough time to get everything set up. With a flick of his wrist, the fox turned both devices on, and slid the tape inside the VCR. He heard Shuiichi enter the room and flop on the couch. A small smile ghosted over the redhead's face. Television wasn't the only temporary freedom the boys gained when their parents were out of the house. Kurama rose to his feet, flipping channels as he did so. Behind him, Shuiichi snorted.

"You know they make remotes, right?"

Shrugging, Kurama replied, "I was already in front of the television."

Shuiichi sighed whimsically, "Just makin' more work for yourself, brother."

Kurama quirked an eyebrow, "And spending time searching for the remote and having to flip through channels isn't more work?"

Shuiichi puffed out his cheeks, "Don't question my logic."

Kurama chuckled, pressing record on the VCR before turning around, and walking over to the couch. Shuiichi scooted over to make room for his brother, and the two of them settled in. A commercial was on at the moment. Some brightly colored, poorly acted inane advertisement for a product no one needed. Shuiichi rolled his eyes. Kurama tapped his fingers on the couch.

"You think one of these days they'll find a way to watch tv without commercials?"

"Possibly, but how will the public know what silly thing it needs to buy next?" Kurama asked, feigning concern. Shuiichi laughed. The commercial ended and was replaced with...a second commercial. the boys groaned.

"I guess the previous program ended early."

"What's even on before X-Files?" Shuiichi asked.

Kurama shrugged and was about to reply when the ringing of the phone cut him off. The brothers looked at each other. It couldn't be their parents, could it? Kurama rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen. The phone rang once more. Plucking it off the wall, Kurama raised the receiver to his ear. If it was his mother or his step-father, he could only hope no misfortune had befallen them.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kurama!"

Yusuke. He should have known. The Spirit Detective had a knack for calling at the most inopportune times. The fox pricked up his ears. From what he could hear, X-Files hadn't started yet. Good.

"Yusuke, hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Yeah, so Little Prince Pacifier just called. Are you free Saturday?"

"I can be," Silence from the living room, "why?"

"Eh, apparently there's some minor freaky stuff going down in an abandoned apartment complex just off Mikono Avenue downtown. He just wants us to check it out, report anything we find. Sounds like a waste of time to me, but, you know whatever our prince demands!"

Kurama leaned out towards the living room. He strained his ears, and caught a faint, but audible deep voice reciting the words _"previously on The X-Files…" _The fox cursed inwardly. Time to rush Yusuke off the phone.

"In that case, I'm definitely free Saturday. I'll see you then." He almost had the phone back in its cradle when Yusuke's voice called him back.

"Hold on a minute! Where are we meeting?"

Scully was yelling something. Skinner sniped back. Damn it, why did it matter where they met? More importantly, why did it matter now?

"Don't we always just meet at your apartment?" The question came out in a single breath.

"Mm, good point. What time did you want to meet up?"

_Hang up! _"One o' clock sound good?" Kurama couldn;t keep the strained tone out of his voice. From within the living room came the intro. The eerie whistling frayed at the fox's patience.

"Yeah, that sounds alright. I'll call you if anything changes."

"Great!" This time, Kurama didn't give Yusuke time to reply. Instead, he slapped the phone back into the cradle and rushed out of the kitchen. He managed to sit on the couch just as the intro theme wrapped up. The screen faded to black and came up in the interior of the Jay Edgar Hoover Building. Kurama sighed. He felt a little bad about leaving the detective hanging, but he did have priorities.

"Was it the folks?" Shuiichi asked.

Scully hurried down the hall. Her heels clicked so loud and so fast it sounded like artillery fire.

Kurama shook his head. "No. It was just Yusuke."

"Oh. What did he want?"

"Nothing really," Kurama responded with a smile, "just wanted to know if I was free Saturday."

Shuiichi nodded and the two of them turned back to the television. As the two of them became engrossed with the unfolding plot, Kurama just had to chuckle. An evening watching television with his step-brother temporarily interrupted by supernatural duty.

It was almost normal.

* * *

**I can see Kurama being an X-Files fan, or at the very least a closet nerd. At any rate, thanks for reading!**


End file.
